Mellow Monk is a very unique tea company, where all of their green tea comes from family-owned and operated tea farms in the Aso region of Japan, a very sought after region for farming in Japan because of the soil and the climate (think the napa valley of Japan!).  These farms are family owned and operated and are certified under Japans 'Eco farmer'  program by the Japanese government's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries, whose goal is to promote environmentally responsible farming methods and in turn benefit their consumers and our environment.  Mellow Monk really captures what fair trade is, because all of their teas are made on these eco farms, where the workers actually live on the grounds, and devote their entire lives to living and making these exceptional Green Teas.  These farms are located in a region where there are the largest number of certified Eco Farmers in all of Japan (equalling 1/5 of the nations total), which goes to show that there is a high amount of pride in sustainability attached to this regions farmers.

In addition to the outstanding high quality of Mellow Monks teas, they are unsurpassed in aroma and flavor.  The tea Mellow Monk sells is known as tamaryokucha, a type of sencha, and each infusion produces a subtly different taste from the last.  And...you can steep more than once, making it a very economical choice.  The tea is made by steaming instead of pan frying, which is another way of producing tea. But by steaming some say you are preserving more of the disease-fighting antioxidants than frying (which is a major reason why people drink green tea), and this helps to retain the teas natural earth flavors as well.

The two teas I tasted were, the Monk's Choice and the Top Leaf, both of which were outstanding!!!  If I were to describe as I would wine, the nose, mouth and finish were absolutely amazing.  I usually don't really like straight green tea, but this tea has such a fresh, subtle and almost addicting flavor. 

*they vacuum seal their tea in foil packets to help preserve freshness

Price:  $$

 $11.15 for 3.5 oz. (equals 40-50 cups of brewed tea)

Eco-friendly rating:  5

Sustainability rating:  5

www.mellowmonk.com

*Check out their "How to Brew' link on thier site it is very informative for the novice Tea drinker!

As stated on Mellow Monks website:

Mellow Monk's Green Teas is certified by Co-Op America as a green business and is listed in the organization's National Green Pages. This certification represents our dedication to dealing directly with family-owned and -operated growers.

Mellow Monk is also a certified green business under the San Francisco Bay Area Green Business Program. This certification reflects our dedication to environmental responsibility in our U.S. operations.